


Lazy Afternoon

by SoraMystic



Series: Re:Versed AU [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: no refunds on feels, the forgotten interaction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23564638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraMystic/pseuds/SoraMystic
Summary: Xion finds some family, Xion loses some family.
Series: Re:Versed AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696072
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Lazy Afternoon

_“Inside, you’ll find a guy named Vanitas. Go talk to him, he can help.”_

With Riku’s words still ringing in her ears, Xion crossed into the Phantom Mansion, and immediately all outside noise disappeared as if the plain white walls absorbed it all – a rather odd experience.

Her footsteps echoed through the hall as she hurried to the stairs. There were no Dusks here, no Organization, no Heartless. Just her and strangely familiar white walls. Despite that, she knew Riku wouldn’t be able to buy her much time, so she hurried along.

Everything had gotten so tangled up. Memories that weren’t hers, Roxas losing his powers, Axel acting weird… how had it all gotten so messed up…?

She stopped as a small creature scuttled into her path. It was small and blue and it movements were jerky. Bright red eyes focused on her and it chittered. In a flash, her keyblade appeared. _It doesn’t look like any Heartless I know… but I’m not taking any chances-!!_

At the sight of the weapon, the creature shrieked before zooming off, turning into a bright blue blur as it flashed down the hallway. “Ah, hey! Come back here!”, Xion called after it, resuming her sprint.

The little beast came to a stop before a door, chittered at her again and slipped right under it. Xion was breathing heavily. Everything about this place seemed familiar, yet she couldn’t place it. Maybe… Maybe Sora had been to this place before and those memories were echoing inside her?

Yeah, that was probably it.

As she reached for the knob, Xion made a noise of surprise when it swung open by itself. She peeked in, carefully checking the surroundings.

First there was a large window overseeing the front yard. She could see Riku fighting the Dusks there. He was hanging in there pretty well, but that would not last. Next there was a table in the same white as the walls, with white roses sitting neatly in a vase. Sniffing those roses was the little blue creature. It blinked at her as she entered the room properly before zooming off again.

“No don’t- go…”, Xion’s call petered out as the thing ran.

“Oh, so he’s sent you up to find me then.”

A door opened on the other side of the room and stepping through was…

“Sora?!”, Xion said.

The person she’d addressed raised an eyebrow at her and it dawned on her that she’d been wrong. Black hair where it should be brown, yellow eyes instead of blue.

“Oh, sorry, I thought-”, Xion started but the other interrupted; “You’re not the first one to call me that, and you likely won’t be the last.”

He pulled back a chair, the blue creature happily bundled around his neck. “Sit down. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while now, Xion.”

“You know me?”, Xion asked, taking a seat. The little blue beast left its spot on its master’s shoulders and ran up to her, chattering excitedly and padding around a bit before plopping down on her lap.

“Nami likes you”, the boy who wasn’t Sora said, looking vaguely amused. “And to answer your question – I do, to some degree. Some things I’ve seen firsthand, others I heard from Riku’s reconnaissance missions. He’s been keeping a close eye on the Organization for me.”

“My name is Vanitas. I might be able to help you out of your current situation”, Vanitas said.

“You can?!”, Xion said, her attention divided between Vanitas’ words and Nami’s happy purring.

Vanitas tapped with something on the table, she couldn’t see what, and he said; “Maybe. It really all depends on one thing.” He pointed the object at her – a small paintbrush. “What do _you_ want to do?”

“What I…? …I- I can’t say I’ve thought about that much…”, Xion mumbled. She stayed quiet for a moment, thinking. Then; “…I want to continue hanging out with Roxas and Axel. They’re- they’re my friends and- and I want to be with them!”

Vanitas blinked slowly at her. “Thought you’d say that.” He stood. “Walk with me.”

As they moved back through the hallway Xion had been running through a few minutes ago, Vanitas said; “I’ll be honest – I can’t give you what you want, at least not directly. But I do have another option for you.”

They stopped in front of yet another door, just as white and unassuming as the rest of the place. “I can hide you”, Vanitas said.

Xion blinked, the creature Nami adjusting in her arms. “Hide… me…?”, she echoed. Vanitas waved a hand. “Till all of this blows over. If they can’t find you, they’ll forget about you.”

He paused. “You are aware of their plans, right? They need either you _or_ Roxas, but not both. So if they can no longer track you, they’ll lose interest.”

“But then they’ll just focus their efforts on Roxas!”, Xion said. “I don’t want him to be in danger because of me. Can’t you hide all three of us?”

Vanitas didn’t speak for a moment. Then he said; “I want to show you something”. And he opened the door.

Inside was a… machine. Or at least that’s what it looked like. It was flower shaped and slightly see-through. A pod of sorts, it seemed.

“What is this?”, Xion asked. Vanitas put a hand on the contraption. “This is where you’d be hidden. Asleep, heart locked away safely in the Sleeping Realm until some external force wakes you.”

He looked back at her. “This place is a stasis. You wouldn’t grow old here, or tired, or hungry, or sick, or anything really.” A wry smile creeped onto his face. “I’ve been here for a little over ten years now? This extension of Castle Oblivion.”

Immediately Xion felt the ground under her grow unstable. The world seemed to turn sideways and she wobbled, knocked off balance for a moment. Nami gave a distressed peep. “Castle- We’re in Castle Oblivion?”, she asked.

“Yep.” Vanitas eyed her. “You’ve felt it, right? The familiarity of this place. It’s the Castle you were born in.”

“What’s going on…?”, Xion mumbled. “I don’t understand anymore…”

Vanitas’ expression became one of pity. “It’s a lot to take in at once. Sorry, I should’ve explained right away.”

“You carry Sora’s memories inside of you. You’ve noticed, yeah?”

Xion nodded wordlessly.

Vanitas gestured to the other end of the room and now Xion noticed the canvasses. Paintings with black streaks across them, as if someone had painted over them but then decided to erase it again. “A few years ago, the Organization came to Castle Oblivion. They found me and- and my brother. Using him as leverage, they made me complicit in their schemes, telling me to turn my power over memories against Sora once he found his way into the castle.”

A few muscles tightened around his mouth and his eyes grew dark. Another creature, identical to Nami, formed from his shadow. He exhaled and the new creature scurried off. “I almost erased all of his memories, nearly making him an empty shell the Organization could do with as they saw fit. But Sora remained true to himself and got rid of them.

“Erasing memories is easier than restoring them, and so, for the past year or so-”, Vanitas said, typing something into the pod’s system. A second later it went completely see-through, revealing its inhabitant. Their face was identical to Vanitas’, except the hair was brown and the eyes were closed.

Xion’s own eyes went wide as Vanitas said; “-he’s been asleep here while his memories are being pieced back together.”

“And some of them wound up in me somehow?”, Xion asked and Vanitas scoffed. “Not exactly ‘somehow’. They were purposefully taken to make you. Sora was too stubborn and while they had Roxas, they didn’t actually have a guarantee he’d cooperate. So they made you.”

“Someone they’d have complete control over…”, Xion muttered. “So I’m really… I’m really not supposed to exist then.” Nami gave a little whine and perked up to nuzzle the girl. Vanitas put a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry you had to find out this way”, he said.

Xion sniffled, wiped eyes her eyes and somehow managed a smile. “No, I mean… I’d had my suspicions. But to have it confirmed is- is something else…”, she said. For a moment she went quiet, then said; “What if… what if I returned to Sora? Would that be an option?”

Judging from the look Vanitas gave her, it most likely wasn’t. “Xion, you… Your existence is made of someone else’s memories in an artificial body. You’re footprints on the beach. You were never meant to exist, so if you vanish, reality will move to correct itself. If you go back to Sora, then I’m sorry, but… your friends won’t remember you. No one will.”

Xion didn’t reply, still processing the information. After a while, Vanitas continued; “Which is why you could hide here. The guy who made you, Vexen, his research is still here. We could find a way to make your existence more… permanent. It’s a long shot, but it could be done. Probably.”

“Why are you… why do you… Giving me options…?”, Xion said, tone flat and close to tears. “Why do you care so much? You don’t even know me.” Nami moved to curl up on her shoulders and began pawing at one of the coat’s strings.

Vanitas hesitated for a moment, then ruffled her hair in an action not too dissimilar to Axel. “We’re connected through Sora – you, Roxas, my brother, and me. By keeping you safe I keep Sora safe, and by keeping Sora safe I keep my brother safe. And-”, he paused. “-and because I can relate at least a little. I’m not really supposed to exist either.”

“What? How-”, Xion began but Vanitas grew tense. Nami perked up as another creature, black and in the shape of a bird, appeared from a puff of shadows, cawing loudly. A moment later the door was thrown open, revealing a heavy-breathing Riku. “Back up arrived”, he panted. “Saix-”

Xion flinched and Vanitas growled, causing a pot-shaped creature to pop into existence. “You can’t hold him off?”, he asked and Riku chuckled dryly. “Not without dying and I’d rather not do that, if you don’t mind.”

Vanitas scoffed (not entirely without humor) and turned to Xion. “Alright then. Time to choose.”

Xion looked at him, then at Riku, then at the pod, then at Nami, who chittered with concern. She scratched the little thing under its chin and sighed, steeling herself. “Help me run away for a while”, she said. “I don’t- I won’t hide here, but if they sense my disappearance they’ll at least leave this place alone.”

“Should I change my mind, you’ll see me here again. With Roxas and Axel”, she said. Nami jumped down, immediately slinking up around Vanitas’ ankles. “Xion…”, Vanitas began and stepped closer, taking her hand. “I’ll never forget you, alright? You’re my sister. Whatever happens, know at least that.”

Now the floodgates broke. “I- I’ll come back, I’ll come visit”, Xion sobbed. “I promise.” And with that, she and Riku stepped through a corridor, disappearing from sight.

\--

\--

“My memories?”, Roxas echoes as he looks at the blackened canvasses. Vanitas nods. “Diz made me do it”, he glowers. His shadow moves and a small creature crawls out. “Said it was a kindness.”

“He has a weird definition of ‘kindness’”, Roxas says bitterly and Vanitas snorts. “God, ain’t that the fuckin’ truth.”

Roxas looks at the canvasses again, tilting his head as he sees one that isn’t blacked out, although it does use a lot of black. “What’s this one? It’s not black like the others”, he says, pulling it up for Vanitas to see.

It’s a picture of a girl with a black coat and black hair, smiling sadly while orange twilight hits the side of her face. “Who is she?”, Roxas asks. For a moment, he could’ve sworn a look of sadness and hurt crossed Vanitas’ face.

“That’s… that’s my sister, Xion. She… passed away recently”, Vanitas says.

“Oh”, Roxas says as he puts the canvas back, wondering why his eyes are starting to water. “…I feel like I should know her. Is that weird?”

“No”, Vanitas says, voice tight. “No, that’s not weird at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I didn't know the Twlight Town field music was called "Lazy Afternoons" until AFTER I'd named this fic.
> 
> I swear I'm not making this up.
> 
> Yell at me in the DMs or on the AU blog!


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